My 10 Favorite Books of 2007

Unlike my previous list, I don't require books on this list to be new. I do have to have read them for the first time, though; I repeated two of my faves this year: The Stand, which I read every five years or so like clockwork, and The Gunslinger. They don't appear on this list.

There's a slight chance I'll finish Frank Deford's sports novel The Entitled before tomorrow night, but only a slight one. It would require an afternoon sitting on the couch, and not scooting around Springfield to some family function or another, something I seem to be incapable of allowing myself and my wife to do.

Here's the list, yo.

10. Antarctica, Kim Stanley Robinson
I've always been a lukewarm fan of sci-fi. I don't have the time to dig into Asimov or the whole Dune series, but I really enjoy Bradbury and some other sci-fi classics. I truly enjoyed Robinson's Mars trilogy; this one was not to that level. The story was sort of perfunctory, though the vivid description of the wasteland-that-isn't-a-wasteland of Antarctica was impressive.

9. The Hours, Michael Cunningham
I'd already seen the movie, so the "it-all-congeals" ending was sort of muted for me. The excellent prose, as would befit a Pulitzer-winning effort, can't really hide the pretension.

8. A Painted House, John Grisham
Okay, so it's John Grisham; this book is no great shakes. But the story is different from his usual unlikely-hero-in-the-South formula, as it is told from the perspective of a young boy in a hard-times cotton family in rural Arkansas, circa 1952. It is, I suspect, largely an autobiography. You can tell Grisham wrote this book for himself, rather than for his publishers.

7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
Told from the POV of an autistic teenager, this book is an interesting look at what an author thinks might be the inner workings of an autistic child's mind. That there really is a mystery to figure out--and that it has nothing to do with the dead dog found in the neighbor's yard--is all the more compelling because the kid never really suspects what he's on to... and since it's told in the first person, neither does the reader.

6. Lisey's Story, Stephen King
I read pretty much everything the man writes. Obviously I'm not highbrow, obviously; thankfully, I'm also not pretentious. This one seems to be an ode to King's wife, Tabitha. The plot feels almost pre-autobiographical: A tortured but brilliant novelist dies, leaving his wife and her formidable sisters to pick up the pieces and deal with a psychopath. Lisey's story has strong characters and gives an interesting (to avid readers) glimpse inside the mind of a brilliant but tortured novelist. But his greatest tale it is not.

5. Everything Is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer
I missed out on the book club discussion on this one at The Moxie (they showed the movie, which I've yet to see, late in 2006), but the book was one of the more unique I've ever read, full of wry humor and some very significant moments. The flashbacks are distracting, but vital; stick with it. I highly recommend this book for people who are stuck on a single author/genre. Safran Foer defies convention.

4. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
One new year's resolution for 2007 was to read more books by and about women. Mission mostly accomplished, and it's all because of this book, which fell into my lap on loan from a friend. Anyone interested in historical fiction or the Old Testament will relish The Red Tent, as it focuses on the clan of Jacob--primarily his four wives and only daughter, Dinah--and the events that tore the family apart and led to the famous beating of Joseph in his coat of many colors. It's obviously fiction, but the story has the feeling of being intensely researched.

3. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane
Mystic River isn't so much a mystery as a tragedy. I had the case of Katie Marcus's murder solved a good 200 pages before the detectives did, but it didn't decrease my pleasure in the book one iota. It's a great character study, as well as a relationship study: fathers and daughters, fathers and sons, and mostly, husbands and wives. It's also one of the few instances where a movie--by Clint Eastwood--makes a very suitable replacement for a book. But don't let that keep you from checking it out at the library.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
It wasn't the best of the Potter series--that honor goes to the sixth book, The Half-Blood Prince--but it was a more-than-satisfying end to what will probably go down as one of the most beloved series of all time (Frodo and Gandalf might have something to say about that now, but not in 50 years). My only real gripe: Rowling should have taken another 10 or 15 pages for the epilogue. After 25,000 pages, couldn't you give us readers just a bit more falling action? (And I'm not talking about that Dumbledore was gay stuff, either.)

1. The Road, Cormac McCarthy
I reviewed The Road on this blog, so I won't deconstruct here. But damn, what a read. I'm interested in seeing the movie, starring Viggo Mortensen, which should begin shooting pretty soon. McCarthy is all of a sudden the new black in Hollywood; his No Country For Old Men is getting rave reviews in theaters, and is on my 2008 reading list. If you haven't read The Road, put it on your own.

Any suggestions for my 2008 list? Post them in the comments.

Peace,

ML

My 10 Favorite Songs of 2007

And so they begin: My "Best Of" lists for 2007. These have become as ubiquitous around this time of year as Christmas carols and hangovers, but for those of us obsessed with pop culture and list-making, they're like cocaine; you can never get enough, until you do. Fortunately with these lists, you don't die.

I start my wrap-up with the best single songs I've heard this year. I must admit, Top 40 radio and iTunes have killed the album. I think music is still best enjoyed in chunks, 12 tracks in a row, often telling its own story. Unfortunately, I can't think of 10 new albums I've listened to straight through this year. The short list includes the Silversun Pickups' Carnavas (came out in 2006, ditto with Wolfmother's self-titled effort); Son Volt's The Search; Kanye West's Graduation; and the Foo Fighters' Echos, Silence, Patience & Grace. Some singles from those discs appear on this list.

Rules and qualifiers: Albums have to have been released this year (it won't be so with other lists, because I make the rules here). This list will also put asunder any indie cred I might have with friends and readers of my magazine... not that there was much to begin with. I listen to things as they come across my desk or my XM Radio. If there's a lot of Top 40, well, I am married to a high school teacher.

10. "Long Walk Home", Bruce Springsteen
My earliest memory of music is The Boss's "Born in the U.S.A.", when my parents were little older than I am now, and over the last 25 years, Springsteen has changed right along with America. He still rocks, but he's more of a statesman of music than a rock star. And the band backing for this song is almost as good as the song itself.

Choice lyric: "Your flag flyin' over the courthouse/Means certain things are set in stone/Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't"


9. "Dance Floor Anthem", Good Charlotte
This is the one I'll take heat for, no doubt. Good Charlotte blows, I know that. But this song was in my head all the way through my marathon, which makes it special, if not good. It's just got a catchy chorus: It makes me want to be 19 again. Still, Joel Madden is kinda funky looking; and he knocked up Nicole Richie.

Choice lyric: "She calls him up/She’s tripping on the phone now/He had to get up/And he ain’t comin' home now/He’s tryin' to forget her/That’s how he got with her/When he first met her/ When they first got together"


8. "Empty Walls", Serj Tankian
What a voice; what an act. And the video... sheesh. Just watch.

Choice lyric: "When we decline, from the confines of our mind/Don't waste your time, on coffins today"

7. "The Great Escape", Boys Like Girls
God, another teeny bop song. I really like this one; I've had times this year when I felt misunderstood, or just wanted to drive until I hit a border or the ocean. This song sums up those feelings nicely.

Choice lyric: "Watch it burn/Let it die/Cause we are finally free tonight"


6. "Girlfriend", Avril Lavigne
I'm starting to get embarrassed. Still, something about this song reminds me of my wife. In a good way.

Choice lyric: "Don't pretend I think you know I'm damn precious/And hell yeah I'm the motherf'n' princess"

Embedding was disabled on YouTube (probably because Avril likes to rip off other people's beats and then overprotect her own stuff), but here's the link.

5. "Roc Boys", Jay Z
If American Gangster was one of my favorite films of the year, this song has to be one of my favorite spins. I love pretty much everything Jay Z does, because he's everything I'm not.

Choice lyric: "Let your hair down baby, i just hit a score/pick any place on the planet, pick a shore/take what forbes figured then figure more/cause they forgot to account what i did with the raw"


4. "All Your Words", Starrfadu
The only ballad on my list is also the only local tune. There weren't a lot of Springfield bands to put out honest-to-got albums this year, but And Yes... Our Thoughts Were Elsewhere was a good one. I like this song. It's sad, but kinda perky.

Choice lyric: "Maybe we're both crazy/and it's plain to see with you and I/that we ain't getting nowhere tonight"

No video online, but here's a link to the band's MySpace page. Listen to everything, for reals. You might recognize one of the songs there, "Let It Out" was used in a 2007 Kleenex commercial. No joke.

3. "The Pretender", Foo Fighters
The Foos have taken over the role The Counting Crows held until I was 25: The role of Favorite Band. I'd listen to Dave Grohl play the slide whistle. This is the most ass-kicking song they've put out in some time, and surpasses any the hard stuff on 2005's In Your Honor. Grohl will never be the icon Kurt Cobain was, but he's surpassed his blond ass as a musician. Great video too; Green Day would do something similar.

Choice lyric: "The secrets that you keep are at the ready/Are you ready?/I'm finished making sense/Done pleading ignorance/That whole...defense"

Another damn "no embed" video, but here's the link.

2. "How Far We've Come", matchbox20
Another band and lead man that gets better with age, though they're hardly the Foos. This is my favorite matchbox song. It never lets up, and I can see it being a theme song for a movie version of The Stand, my favorite book, because it seems to evoke the apocolypse. The video would indicate it's about social change. Wusses.

Choice lyric: "I sat down on the street, took a look at myself/said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell/say all goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to"


1. "Stronger", Kanye West
I love everything Jay Z does, but I'm awed by almost everything the Louis Vuitton Don cranks out. "Stronger" might be the most technically flawless song of 2007; the production is second to none, and Kanye's rhymes leave me slack-jawed, like Eminem's used to before he quit recording and I realized life was too short to listen to shi* that doesn't make you feel good (even if it makes you laugh). Kanye is king.

Choice lyric: "Bow in the presence of greatness/Cause right now thou has forsaken us/You should be honored by my lateness/That I would even show up to this fake shi*/So go ahead go nuts, go ape shi*"


I'm sure there a billion quibbles, and a billion great songs out there I haven't listened to. One of my many new year's resolutions is to dip deeper into the great pool of music. Trouble is, the good stuff is just so hard to find anymore, so middle-of-the-road fans like me are left singing along to Avril. Sigh.

Peace.

ML

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

Not too many things can chase my ass to the computer to blog like earth-shaking St. Louis Cardinals news, and that's exactly what did it this morning when I fired up the Firefox and found that Jimmy Edmonds is now a San Diego Padre. I'm not shocked--he was old, expensive, and blocking young talent from playing center field for the Cards--but he was the longest-tenured Cardinal, the emotional epicenter of the team and a damn good-looking guy. He was awesome for his patented upercutting power stroke, his perfect diving catches, and his attitude. He'll be missed, and if he manages to make it to Cooperstown, I'll be proud for him to be wearing a St. Louis cap. I think the odds of his making it are a lot more likely now than they were a week ago.

Why do I say that? Well, anyone who has a sports pulse followed the unveiling of baseball's Mitchell Report with at least mild interest. Better than six dozen players were revealed to have (at least a fair) connection to steriods and HGH. Many of these players are retired or well on their way. Albert Pujols wasn't there, as had been reported initially, and thank goodness. Neither was this guy. Ergo, most of my faith in the game remains intact, though I hardly think the Michell Report is a capstone of any sort. Really, I think the witch hunt and punishment of violators is a joke; baseball would be better off acknowledging, fixing, and moving on. Keeping McGwire and Bonds and Clemens out of the Hall of Fame only keeps the wound open and festering. They were the best players of an unfortunate and flawed era. You can't change history, only learn from it.

What does this have to do with Jimmy Ballgame? Well, I think, five or six years from now when Bonds, McGwire and (possibly) Clemens are still sitting there, ignored, on the voters' ballots, a guy like Edmonds, who played the game hard, with flair--and, most importantly squeaky clean, unless weird things come to light--appears on the ballot, writers will be inclined to vote for him (them). Others who fit this bill will be Craig Biggio, Bernie Williams, Larry Walker and Jason Varitek. Of course, many of these players have been tagged as possible users, which brings me to my final point: We don't really know. Never will, with certainty. Perhaps Bonds deserves to be an outcast for his federal purjury charge. Maybe. But I still think Pete Rose should be in the Hall, so what do I know?

Barring further development, this is all I'll say on steriods for the forseeable future, unless I start using, in which case I'll blog in detail about my massive biceps and inverted testicles. It'll be my gift to all of you!

For those of you who care, life is predictably hectic. Work, of course, has combined with MBA finals, holiday shindigs and a nasty, nasty sinus infection to frazzle me a good deal. I haven't begun to Christmas shop. But it'll get done, it always does. I'm looking forward to the Christmas-to-New Year's stretch because that's when old friends come home and I recharge my batteries a bit.

More this week, me promises.

Peace.

ML

The Holidays officially begin!

Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year, and that hasn't changed since Nichole and I started hosting for my family a couple of years ago. Yesterday we got up a 8 a.m. and began cooking, after we'd spent most of the evening before doing the same thing. On the menu:
--Cornish game hens. We dethawed, rinsed and basted these babies, which turned out to be quite a bit bigger than we had expected. We only ate three of the six, and sent one whole bird home with my parents and grandparents and saved one for ourselves. They were good, but holding and drying a warm Cornish game hen was really disturbing... it has the weight and feel of a baby. *Shudders*
--green rice, which is a cheesy, ricey, broccoli-ish dish of wonderment Nichole learned to make from--and then did it better than--her mother.
--mashed potatoes, kept warm in a crock pot, as read in GO Magazine.
--plenty of wine and beer
--Charlotte Russe, a custard-and-cream that my mom makes, that has been passed down through her family.
--green beans

Then we all gathered around our table, Nonee in her wheelchair off to the side. Then, after cleanup and some conversation with my parents, Nichole and I fell asleep on the Cowboys game for about three hours. It was a delightful evening.

A few other things have happened since my last blog:

--I haven't been running too much, but have decided that the Go! St. Louis Marathon will be my next race. I'll start next month (the weather should make it fun), and hopefully have lots of interesting things to say.

--Barry Bonds was indicted for purjury. Yawn. I don't really care what happens to Barry, he deserves what he gets, and I couldn't make a good argument for him even getting into the Hall of Fame, but I do care what happens to his records. I hope they stick. The steriod era covered almost 20 years of the game's history--anyone who cares about records knows any and all of those numbers are suspect, but when we start tearing them down, pretending like the era never happened, it has a cheapening effect on the game far beyond a few inflated home run totals. Learn from the mistakes, don't let them happen again, but don't insult the fans by pretending the home runs from 1987-2004 were never hit. Where would you begin? More importantly, where would you stop?

--Today I'm going to put up Christmas lights. Full disclosure: One of my few phobias is ladders. Hate 'em. But I put up Christmas lights because it makes Nichole smile. When I'm done, I feel like this:



Looks like the decorating fest is under way!

Peace,

ML

Ouch.

You've probably seen this by now. If not... enjoy.



Peace.

ML

Worst. World Series. Ever. (Well, tied)

If there's one thing in my life that approaches my love for my wife, my family and my dog, it's my passion for baseball, specifically the St. Louis Cardinals and the World Series. As I type, Mike Lowell is being handed the World Series MVP trophy for 2007, as the Red Sox finished off a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies. The brief, unremarkable series got me thinking: Is it possible to quantify the "greatness" of a World Series? And I came to the conclusion that, on a subjective basis, it is. So, as I watched the closing innings of this game, I tried to do just that.

A few numbers jumped out at me. This was my 20th season of closely (nay, obsessively) following Major League Baseball. I have vague memories of watching the 1987 series with my dad. I have concrete memories of staying up late to watch the 1988 playoffs with him, chanting "Mets are pondscum" during the '88 NLCS, etc. That's where my timeline begins. Unfortunately, that means I have only 19 World Series to evaluate, since 1994 was a strike washout. Say thank'ya!

A final caveat: I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan, and without apology. Any series that included the Cardinals got an extra three points in my (again, subjective!) ratings. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you skew your OWN ratings. Unless you're a Cubs fan, because then there would be no Series ratings to skew. Honestly, unless the Cardinals are involved, you won't find a more unbiased baseball fan, so I feel I'm mostly qualified to make this analysis.

The criteria and somewhat arbitrary scoring system:

Length of series: All things being equal, I want to see a long series, even if FOX doesn't. Points are weighted double for each game it progresses past a four-game sweep (zero points).
+2 for a five-game series
+4 for a six-game series
+8 for a seven-games series

Winning the series at home: All things being equal, I want to see a team celebrate a championship on its home field. It makes the conclusion infinitely more satisfying.
+3 for clinching a championship at home.

Being "Old-School": Okay, I'll admit. I'm what you might call a baseball snob--a "purist" in the old tongue. Any series that includes a team that existed--EVEN IN ANOTHER CITY, BY ANOTHER NAME--in the pre-expansion era gets bonus points.
+2 for pre-expansion participants PER TEAM.

Signature moments: This is where this list exits the realm of science and becomes purely subective. No fan is going to remember exactly the same moments from any given series. However, as a (mostly) unbiased, ever-watching baseball fan, I'm confident that if I can't remember a Series-"defining" moment, not many people can. What are defining moments? Pretty much any dramatic, noteworthy play, accomplishment or factor that the history books will note in, say, 25 years. Example: You remember Reggie's three-homer game in 1977 against the Dodgers; do you remember anything about the 1978 Series, also against the Dodgers? Or the 1979 Series between the O's and Pirates, for that matter? 'Nuff said.
+3 for every "Signature" moment as defined by this blog's master, Matt Lemmon

Without further ado, my best World Series' ever. (And, yes, this blog post's title gave away the 2007 Series' ranking.)

1991-Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves: 33 points
I didn't need math to tell you this one was the best I've seen. I was in the sixth grade, fixated on nothing but baseball (the girl I was "going out" with will attest to that). This series was my first proof that A.) A series could go seven games and B.) include a team other than Oakland. The result: A classic.
+8: Seven-game series (home team won every game)
+3: Won at home
+4: Two old-school teams (the Twins were the original Washington Senators, so I counted them. The '91 series would have won handily regardless)
+18: Six signature moments. Perhaps I'm being generous here, seeing as how I watched every OUT, which is something I can't say for every series, but here are the things I remember:
--Kirby Puckett's Game 6 catch to rob Ron Gant of a go-ahead home run-->

--Kirby Puckett's Game 6 walk-off home run (and Jack Buck's "And we'll see you.... tomorrow night! call).
--Jack Morris's 10 shutout innings in Game 7.
--Gene Larkin's walk-off Texas leaguer to win Game 7.
--Some unnamed Brave scoring on a sac fly to win game four or five in Atlanta (I just remember it being dramatic)
--Lonnie Smith being duped into a baserunning error by the Twins' second baseman, and thus not scoring the go-ahead run in Game Seven.
--Minnesota's Dan Gladden plowing over Atlanta catcher Gregg Olson (SP?) at the plate, creating that unforgettable image.

2001-Arizona Diamondbacks over New York Yankees: 25 points
Many would argue this was the best series ever, and if it weren't for the non-stop drama of 1991, I'd agree. Heightening this Series's import were the September 11 attacks, barely a month before this series, which pushed the final games into November, an unheard-of thing. When the D-backs won, it almost seemed they should have apologized for twisting the knife in the heart of a messed up city, but really, this series was it's own reward for the whole nation.
+8: Seven-game series (another where the home team won every game)
+2: One old-school team (NY)
+3: Won at home
+12: Signature moments. I'm admittedly giving this one a bit of an emotional boost because it came so quickly after 9/11, and included a team from New York. So sue me.
--George W. Bush (hssssst!) throwing out the first pitch of Game 3/post-9/11 hoopla
--Scott Brosius walk-off, Game 4
--Tino Martinez's walk-off, Game 5. I watched both of these home runs from the exact same spot on back-to-back nights--lying on my left side watching the tiny TV in my then-girlfriend's room (sorry mom, but it's true). It's the most overwhelming feeling of deja vu I've ever had.
--Luis Gonzalez's walk-off single to win Game 7.

2002-Anaheim Angels over San Francisco Giants: 19 points
This one surprised me, and not just because I spent the entirety of the series on my honeymoon (those nights sleeping over in 2001 paid off). Granted, it went seven games, and I gave a "signature moment" status to Dusty Baker's kid almost getting run over at the plate, but how can you not?
+8: Seven-game series
+2: One old-school team (SF)
+3: Won at home
+6: Signature moments
--Angels comeback in Game 5. Giants manager Dusty Baker had even given the damn game ball to his starter, and then the Halos come back to win it. I don't recall much about Games 6 and 7, except that I watched Game 7 from the terminal of LAX, waiting for a plane to Chicago (not 10 miles from the Angels' stadium, or so they say). But fairly dramatic, anyway.
--Aforementioned toddler-in-the-basebaths incident.

1996-New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves: 17 points
When the Yanks won this series, I was a bit nieve. After all, it had been 18 years since they'd won one: I hadn'tt even been (quite) conceived when they repeated in 1978. The Braves were the big bad bullies, trying to repeat... well, we all know what happened after that. Still this was a pretty remarkable series, the Yankees losing the first two games overwhelmingly (at home!) and then winning four straight, culminating in the best celebration to date...
+4: Six-game series
+3: Won at home
+4: Two old-school teams
+6: Signature moments
--Wade Boggs on the back of a NY police horse, high-fiving fans. Indeed, ALL of the Yankees high-fiving fans. The Boggs part seemed a bit incestuous, since I remembered him as a Red Sock (though it wasn't quite as incestuous as seeing him get his 3,000th hit as a Devil Ray).
--Andruw Jones hitting homers in his first two WS at-bats as a 19-year-old. I was impressed by it, what can I say?

1997-Florida Marlins over Cleveland Indians: 16 points
The lowest-ranked over all my seven-game series, this was the first time I'd watched a series and wondered, "What the hell is THAT team doing there?" But Florida shocked us all, as several teams have since.
+8: Seven-game series
+3: Won at home
+2: One old-school team (CLE)
+3: Signature moments
--Edgar Renteria's walk-off single to score Craig Counsell is all I really remember. Tony Fernandez booting a ball at second base immediately preceded that, but I'm going to lump them together.

2006-St. Louis Cardinals over Detroit Tigers: 15 points
Okay, okay, okay. This one likely only makes it this high because, you know, my Cardinals WON. But the fact that it went an extra game (and the drama from that game) plus the fact that two storied franchises were participating helped make it the highest-rated five- or four-game series on the list (and even beat one six-game series).
+2: Five-game series
+3: Won at home
+4: Two old-school teams
+6: Signature moments
--Did I mention the Cardinals WON?
--Game 2, Kenny Rogers and the dirty smudge on his hand. Quite the controversy, no? I wonder why he barely pitched in 2008?

1993-Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies: 15 points
The highest-ranked of the non-seven game series, this one is most notable for its final play, and the fact that the Jays were the first team to repeat since the '77-'78 Yankees. But it had its fair share of drama.
+4: Six-game series
+3: Won at home
+2: One old-school team (PHI)
+6: Signature moments
--Joe Carter's walk-off, Game 7 home run off of Mitch Williams. This really should get more points, but a moment's a moment. It's not two moments.
--Maybe this makes up for the lack of gravitas for Carter's bomb: Remember Game 4, when the teams combined for 29 runs, and the Jays prevailed 15-14. Holy crap. I remember watching that game and shaking my head the whole time.

1988-Los Angeles Dodgers over Oakland Atheltics: 12 points
I'm somewhat partial to this series, though the numbers don't bear me out. It's the first series I got jazzed about, watching the entire playoffs with my dad. It also coincided nicely with our first fall in Ozark after moving from Texas... it was sort of a new life for us all, though I was less acutely aware of the fact than my parents were. Anyway, Game 1 is all anyone really needs to remember about this series.
+2: Five-game series
+4: Two old-school teams
+6: Signature moments
--Duh. A limping Kirk Gibson's walk-off homer in Game 1 is perhaps the most famous World Series home run of our generation. Accentuating the drama, for me, is my hero Jack Buck's call: "I don't be-LIEVE what I just saw!" Wow.
--I also remember Jose Canseco's huge home run in Game 1 that bounced off the CBS camera. It was a ridiculous year for Canceco (and also might have been the signature year of the steriod era, save '98 McGwire and '01 Bonds), and that home cemented it.

1995-Atlanta Braves over Cleveland Indians: 11 points
Poor Atlanta. More playoff trips than any of these teams and their only win is only this high. That's because, other than the fact that they actually WON (at home, against another old-school team), it was a wholly unremarkable series. In fact, I couldn't remember a single significant moment. Maybe I had play practice or something.
+4: Six-game series
+3: Won at home
+4: Two old-school teams

2004-Boston Red Sox over St. Louis Cardinals: 10 points
For a sweep, this one was chock full of drama (it's the highest-rated four-game series, but only because of the teams involved). But not for Cardinals fans. For Cardinals fans, this series blew.
+4: Two old-school teams
+6: Signature moments
--First series I'd ever seen the Cardinals in
--Red Sox first series win in a bajillion years or something like that

2000-New York Yankees over New York Mets: 10 points
Subway Series! Though, forgive me, I doubt it lacked the panache of those old Brooklyn-New York matchups. The Yanks were in their prime here, though it probably should have been a bit closer than it was.
+2: Five-game series
+2: One old-school team (NYY)
+6: Signature moments
--It was a Subway Series. Good for the press.
--The whole "Roger Clemens-threw-a-broken-bat-at-Mike-Piazza thing, but not really." That was pretty good theater.

1992-Toronto Blue Jays over Atlanta Braves: 9 points
I must admit, when I was really young and chose teams based on the prettiness of their uniforms (you can make gay jokes, but the Jays' '80s unis were pretty damn attractive), the Jays were my team. So I was a bit happy when they made it to the Fall Classic for the first time in 1992. But, alas, other than a nationalistic faux pas before Game 1, I don't remember a damn thing about this series.
+4: Six-game series
+2: One old-school team (ATL)
+3: Signature moments
-Before Game 1 (or possibly Game 2) in Atlanta, whoever presented the Canadian colors had the flag UPSIDE DOWN. I mean, c'mon, it was the first time a Canadian team had ever made the Series. You can forgive a ROTC schmuck for not knowing what a right-side-up maple leaf looks like, right?

2003-Florida Marlins over New York Yankees: 9 points
I suppose a six-game series should get more points than this. Maybe it's a flaw in my rating system. But really, do YOU consider this a more memorable series than the Dodgers in '88? Or the Sox in '04? Didn't think so.
+4: Six-game series
+2: One old-school team (NYY)
+3: Signature moment
-Miggy Cabrera hit a go-ahead homer late in game four or five. I'm being REALLY generous here.

1989-Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants: 7 points
Poor A's. The dominant team of my early basebal-fandom, and the only reason they're this high is because of the San Andreas fault.
+4: Two old-school teams
+3: Signature moment
-The earthquake immediately before Game 3. Drama on live TV. Yowers.

1999-New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves: 7 points
Shi**y, shi**t series. Only here because the teams were historical and it was the NL's year for home-field advantage.
+3: Won at home
+4: Two old-school teams

2005-Chicago White Sox over Houston Astros: 5 points
I was too busy (and pissed at the 'Stros) to watch much of this one. It's a miracle it ranks this high.
+2: One old-school team (CHW)
+3: Signature moment
-Scott Podsednik's walk-off homer in Game 2, further crucifying Brad Lidge, who had been rendered almost impotent by Albert Pujols in Game 5 of the NLCS.

1990-Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics: 4 points
Now we're just going through the motions. Name one thing about this series (Reds fans, pipe down) other than Eric Davis brusing his kidney.
+4: Two old-school teams

1998-New York Yankees over San Diego Padres: 2 points
The only thing I remember about this series is that I was a freshman in college, and I was drunk, trying to impress one of my older fraternity members with all my knowlegdge about the Padres (which, for a drunk 18-year-old, was quite a damn bit). Ugh.
+2: One old-school team (NYY)

2007-Boston Red Sox over Colorado Rockies: 2 points
This series hasn't been over for two HOURS and I can't tell you a single memorable moment. I guess the last two games were close... but so what? It seemed pretty foregone from the moment the Sox went up 6-0 in Game 1. Reminds me of 2004, except without the question of how the Sox could conceivably blow it.
+2: One old-school team (BOS)

Total NL teams I've seen in the Series: 12 of 16 (all but PIT, CHN, WSH/MTL, MIL)
Total AL teams I've seen in the Series: 9 of 14 (all but TB, BAL, KC, SEA, TEX)

Total series wins leaders:
NYY-4 ('96, '98,'99,'00)
TOR-2 ('92, '93)
FLA-2 ('97, '03)
BOS-2 ('04, '07)
LAD-1 ('88)
OAK-1 ('89)
CIN-1 ('90)
MIN-1 ('91)
ATL-1 ('95)
ARZ-1 ('01)
LAA-1 ('02)
CHW-1 ('05)
STL-1 ('06)

Teams I've seen play in the most series:
NYY-6 ('96, '98, '99, '00, '01, '03)
ATL-5 ('91, '92, '95, '96, '99)
OAK-3 ('88, '89, '90)
TOR-2 ('92, '93)
BOS-2 ('04, '07)
FLA-2 ('97, '03)
STL-2 ('04, '06)
SF-2 ('89, '02)
CLE-2 ('95, '97)
ARZ-1 ('01)
LAA-1 ('01)
CHW-1 ('05)
LAD-1 ('88)
CIN-1 ('90)
MIN-1 ('91)
PHI-1 ('93)
SD-1 ('98)
NYM-1 ('00)
HOU-1 ('05)
DET-1 ('06)
COL-1 ('07)

Thanks for bearing with me on my anal-retentive trip down memory lane. It was fun. Rip apart my ratings in the comments, if you wish, and here's hoping that next year's Series is up there on the list.

Peace.

ML

I'm Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now!)

Race photos are posted! (This isn't one of them, it's just one my sister-in-law took that I like).

I know none of you will want one, but I don't want to buy the whole lot, either. Here's a link to "Party Pics"-style snapshots taken of me on the marathon course. Most of them are from the finish line, a few from the 10-12 mile mark.

http://www.backprint.com/go.asp?24128018


And, just to put a bow on this whole marathon thing, I thought I'd make a few more detailed observations, now that I can actually walk again.

1. If you're ever responsible for helping organize a marathon, convince the people in charge to switch up the flavors of Gatorade at the aid stations. Seriously. I will never again drink badly mixed red Gatorade. By the end of the race I was drinking water just to get the taste out of my mouth, even though I really needed electrolytes.

2. If possible, plan to take the first day after the race off work. I could barely walk around the office--if it hadn't been a deadline day I would have gone home. I could literally feel my calves knitting themselves back together.

3. Don't believe for a second that you CAN'T run a marathon. With the proper training, a slightly insane streak and a good deal of willpower, a half or full marathon is within almost anyone's reach. Team In Training is a good way to do it, really. They'll give you the training regimen, the weekend Powerade and bagels, and a good deal of positive reinforcement.

4. Choose places to run that please you aesthetically. Even at my most zapped moments, I found time to look around me and smile, whether it was running along the James River during a training run or through 18th and Vine, a mile and a half from the marathon's end. If you have to run with an iPod, take out the ear buds every now and then and listen to the birds and the sound of your own breathing. I'm not a Zen-iphile, but those moments were as close as I got.

5. Buy good shoes, and make sure they're big enough. I can't stress this too much. You can put 500 miles on a good pair of shoes. My Mizuno's weren't cheap, but I wouldn't have finished in my old shoes, plain and simple.

Gosh, I guess that's all for now. The main thing is finding people who support you, be it a spouse, friends, a running group (I can't explain how great Springfield's Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners are) or Team in Training. Don't get too hung up on running WITH a group of people, unless you need the motivation to actually show up on Saturday mornings. Most of my best runs were solo. It was two hours (sometimes more) on a weekend where the stresses of life and work couldn't touch me, which is a huge part of the reason this was such a healthy experience and, in the end, why I'll do it again.

If you dig a try at the St. Louis marathon in April, I'd love to have some running partners. Contact me at matthew.lemmon@gmail.com

Peace.

ML

Ohh, a meme!

Not a mime, not a me-me, not a memo. A meme. I guess it's sort of like those MySpace quizzes, but for bloggers, and if you get tagged on a meme, it means someone likes your blog. I dunno. Strikes me as being tantamount to a chain letter, but I'll play along this time.

My buddy Nathan, who writes the embarrassingly good The Drinking Bird, tagged A Running Commentary, which, now that the marathon is over, will hopefully be more commentary and less running--except for when, you know, I run.

Anyway, here's how memes work:

-You can leave them exactly as is.
-You can delete any one question.
-You can mutate either the genre, medium, or subgenre of any one question. For instance, you could change “The best time travel novel in SF/Fantasy is…” to “The best time travel novel in Westerns is…”, or “The best time travel movie in SF/Fantasy is…”, or “The best romance novel in SF/Fantasy is…”.
-You can add a completely new question of your choice to the end of the list, as long as it is still in the form “The best [subgenre] [medium] in [genre] is…”.
-You must have at least one question in your set, or you’ve gone extinct, and you must be able to answer it yourself, or you’re not viable.

Then you answer your list of questions. Also part of the ceremony is listing the progression of blogs through which the meme has passed. I do that now.

My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparent is Flying Trilobite and the Hellfire Club.
My great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparent is A Blog Around the Clock.
My great-great-great-great-great-grandparent is archy.
My great-great-great-great-grandparent is Why Now?
My great-great-great-grandparent Rook's Rant.
My great-great-grandparent is Blue Girl, Red State.
My great-grandparent is Welcome to the Revolution.
My grandparent is Corner of the Sky.
My parent is The Drinking Bird

Now I answer questions. For the record, I decided to both change one question and add my own.

The best multi-volume series in SF/Fantasy is The Dark Tower, by Stephen King

The worst "spin-off" TV series in comedy is After M*A*S*H

The worst airport I've ever traveled through is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The best-looking uniform in pro sports is the Los Angeles Dodgers home uni.

There, I did it. I now tag:

Gregory Holman
In the Mailbox
The Skinny Guru

Hope you enjoyed it!

Peace!

ML

And I Ran...

... I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldnt get away.

UPDATE: Photos! I'll post a couple here and link to the official marathon shots when they are posted online.

Well, sports fans, the race is over.

I'm still trying to put my impressions of the weekend in order. It was truly the experience of a lifetime. I can tell you with much pride that I did not walk (other than through the aid stations, where everyone walks) and I finished very strong, passing five or six people in the last half mile and sprinting through the finish line in 4 hours, 7 minutes and 17 seconds, a 9 minute and 29 seconds-per-mile pace. By my caculations, that means I was running about 6.36 miles per hour. Not spectacular, but definitely not a poor first showing. I am pleased. I finished 51st in my age group (24-29). You can see the complete, unofficial results of the marathon here.

But the statistics really are secondary to the fact that I finished without walking or pooping out, even though at about the 18-mile mark, I really wanted to do just that. The Kansas City Marathon course takes you on a tour of the best and worst the city has to offer:
--It begins at Crown Centre, amid the tall buildings downtown, in the pre-dawn twilight
--Takes you around the Liberty Memorial, through Westport and Country Club Plaza, all in the first seven miles
--You run through the ritzy neighborhoods south of the Plaza, on and around Ward Parkway (if you want to buy pricy real estate, K.C.'s your place... nearly every other mansion was for sale)
-- You also go through some rougher areas, around multiple parks
--The course also slingshots you around the 18th and Vine jazz district (there was an honest to god jazz group playing, though by the 24.5 mile mark I was way too tired to care)
--The course ends downtown again for a brilliant, .2-mile downhill finish. The finish line and after-party/crashfest are held at the old Union Station.

There were three major uphill portions, one at the two mile mark, just before Liberty Memorial. It was short, steep--no sweat. I like the hills more than the average runner, I suspect. My relatively short, strong legs make it easier to stay low. The second hill was between the 8- and10-mile marks, immediately after the Plaza (amid the aforementioned expensive homes). It was long, and slightly more difficult. It separated the men from the boys, as I passed a lot of people who took off too fast. The final hill was more than a mile long, pretty gradual... it would have been easier had it not been at the 20-22 mile mark. Here I actually caught my second wind, caught up to my pace group again... and was rewarded at the very top of the hill by my first glimpse of my wife since the 1-mile mark. Nichole had spent the previous three hours running around the city trying to find me, and braved one of the course's more... uh... Pitbull-filled neighborhoods to find me, just when I needed her most. My brother and sister in law, John and Courtney Schindele, surprised is by driving up to K.C. to cheer me on.

If the big hill at mile 20 was my second wind, where was my "wall" you ask? Miles 16-20. It was a long, flat, out-and-back (which means we basically ran two miles down a street, turned around and came back). No hills may sound nice, but continual, flat running can burn out a specific muscle set extremely quickly. I fell about a quarter mile behind my pace group during this stretch, there was little shade, my fingers were going numb (I was running a bit too tight in my shoulders). I slowed down and survived it and resisted the urge to walk, began kissing my dreams of breaking 4:10 good-bye, not to mention 4 hours.

The last mile, while not the hardest, definitely seemed like the longest. Our Team in Training coach, Richard Johnson (who just ran a 100-mile race last weekend and wasn't running in K.C.) jogged alongside me a bit of the way, pushing me to catch people in front of me--including my pace group--and break 4:10, which I did. No one passed me in the last two miles that I can remember.

The finish was all I hoped for. As you come to the chute (where the crowd narrows and gets crazy), there must be someone on a walkie talkie telling the announcer your number, because you can hear them calling your name over the loudspeaker. "Let's welcome Matt Lemmon home!" That was a nice feeling. Nichole, John and Courtney (plus my Team in Training cohorts) were there at the finish line. Nichole ran right over to me and kissed me--I would have bet she wouldn't have, I tend to get mouth goobers on long runs, and was nasty with sweat and salt. One of the workers tried to put a solar sheet --kind of like the reflective windshield shade-guards--around my shoulders and I reflexively threw it back at him; it was hotter than 70 degrees by this point, quite warm for a late-October marathon. Another volunteer unlaced my shoes and took the chip (which records your true starting and finishing times) off my shoe laces. Meanwhile I tried to not fall over. I filed through the queue and got my medal and a cool "Finsher" T-shirt.

And then it was over. Nichole forced me to drink Gatorade, water, and to eat a wheat roll from the recovery tent. I would have liked to have checked out the festival a bit more, but we had to get back to the Plaza to check out of our hotel and, to be honest, I wasn't feeling very good. I can live with the pain in my legs and knees, but the hell the run caused my stomach and excretory system over the next six hours was really tough. I don't know if it was the heat, dehydration or the fact that all I had in my gut was my runner's carbohydrate blocks, but I felt ill until we got home (thankfully Nichole drove). I only ate about two bites of a chicken breast at the Cheesecake Factory, where John and Courtney took us for a post-race celebration. But by the time I got home I was ready to wolf down some Arby's and have a couple of victory beers. By 9:15 I was in bed, where I slept like the dead.

Today my legs are super-stiff, but not quite as sore as they were. My only chafing injury was on my left ankle. It'll be interesting to see how my knee feels once all the swelling and lactic acid are out of it... it hurt most of the week and then for the first six miles yesterday. I suspect I'll be moving slowly around the office this week, but I doubt anyone will notice.

Too long, this post? Sorry. I told you I was still trying to put my thoughts in order. There were a lot of reasons for taking on this quest back in April: It had been a very tough year up to that point, and I wanted to do something that was just for me; I'm acutely aware of my family's health history, and I want to stay healthy; it was a chance to cross something off my life list. Now I can say "I've run a marathon," which, while hardly a rare accomoplishment--you should have seen how many people were running yesterday--it IS an accomplishment. Will I run more? I suspect so. I need to focus on my professional life and my MBA class that is starting this week, but I'm intrigued by the St. Louis race in April. I'm also considering being a mentor for a Team in Training group that's going to Anchorage, Alaska next June to run the Mayor's Midnight Marathon... it's on the summer solstice, when it's light all day. Could be quite the trip. But I'm going to delay any decision for a few weeks. I'm going to enjoy a few Saturdays of sleeping in for first time since June.

I'll sign off now. I'm waiting for Courtney to e-mail photos she took yesterday, and the marathon's official photos havent' been posted yet: I'll update when I get those. Thank you to all (both?!) of you who have kept up with this journey. A Running Commentary is not finished, far from it. I have a feeling this is only beginning.

Peace,

ML

Nearing the starting line

...Or the finish line, however you like to look at it.

Nichole and I leave for Kansas City soon, the race is less than 48 hours away. My knee is still pretty tweaked... I don't expect this to be an easy run, though the weather looks superb. Looking at the KC Marathon's elevation chart, it looks like my two biggest hills are right at the beginning and between miles 21 and 22... the exact point where I reach uncharted distances. Good times.

As for the knee, I've been going without any ibuprofen all week to sort of get used to the strained feeling. I plan to take a couple before the race, and hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised with how it responds. I'll probably let Nichole drive up to KC... gas pedals are hell on ACLs.

This will probably be my final post before the race: I'll be sure to have pictures and links to my sorry ass finishing time on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Wish me luck! And thank you to all of you who have supported me through this, both emotionally and financially--particularly my wife, Nichole, and my parents, Curtis and Susan.

Peace.

ML

What's in a name?

So I just participated in my first Sunshine Run, the annual 5K/10K run and walk sponsored by local mega-hospital, St. John's. It's funny, because the race doesn't even touch Sunshine Street, the event's namesake, but begins and ends at Hammons Field near downtown. I do hope next week's Kansas City Marathon is actually in Kansas City.

Not a lot to say about the race. It's a good time... lots of families and too-serious middle-aged men, as is Springfield's style. I ran the 6.2 miles in about 48 and a half minutes (I wasn't watching clock when I finished, I had to ask the old dude who blew by me 100 yards out). I ran the last three miles very hard... early in the race I got passed by a little kid (Tiny Tim) and a lumbering dude (Poofy Hair Boy), and made it my goal to pass them by the end. I did, just beating Poofy-Hair Boy at the end. I believe I might have overdone it, in light of my 26.2 miles next week. I still really have no idea how to pace myself, but now have the competetive juices flowing. Whatev.

A few other notes:
--Running and drinking water simulatneously is hard if it's not from a sport bottle.
--The nuns handing out water at the 2-mile marker was a nice touch
--Having the final 90 feet of the race go down the third-base line of Hammons Field was cool for a baseball geek like me

I'm gonna call it a post. Life outside the running is mostly okay, some bad, some good. On Friday Nichole and I will have been married five years, so that's awesome.

Oh yeah! I met my donation goal. YAY! Thank you so much to all of you who donated. I believe the list on my home page is updated. If not, do let me know and I'll put you up there.

Peace.

ML

Friday night's alright for runnin' (and bloggin')

Running on Friday evening is an interesting thing. Since the weather started getting cooler (it is not today, but overall) I've shifted my weekday runs from early morning hours to after work. I've found I'm more limber, less prone to pain, and even though it's generally hotter and I lose one of my few free hours, the afternoon exercise sort of sheds the stress of the day. Besides, I heart sleeping in.

This Friday, I really needed it, and it turned out my schedule was clean. Today was one of those days at work that feels like a pastry pump... you know, the bag-with-a-spigot thingies bakers use to parcel out dough and icing? No matter how much I crapped out, there was a lot more to squeeze, which is nice for a cake, bad for an editor. Anyway, I hit the Greenways at about 6:10 p.m., an hour that features an interesting collection of young couples with kids, seniors, and young women who I'm guessing either don't have or don't want dates (you GO girls!). And me. To tell you the truth, it was the most satisfying five-miler I've put in during this whole ordeal, and I think it's precicely because I was NOT downtown with the rest of the twenty-somethings. That's a terrible thing for the editor of a hip and trendy magazine to write in an open forum, but for one night at least, it's the God's honest truth.

Which brings me back to the marathon. It's two weeks from tomorrow. Egad! Because of my mid-September trip to Vegas (see last post), I'm a week behind my fellow Team In Tranining-ites (Team in Trainers? They don't wear diapers.), so my huge big solo run is this weekend, followed by a two-week taper/rest period. Think of me on Sunday morning, when I'm shooting for 20 miles. By my rationale, if I can do 20, I can do 26 on race day. Do the math with me--a marathon is 100 percent preparation, 6 percent adrenaline and one percent stupidity. There's your 26 miles. That doesn't make any sense, but then I always sucked at math.

Now that I'm showered and home, I'm sipping on a Michelob Ultra (yes, I'm THAT GUY for now) and watching Yankees-Indians on TBS. I must admit, as a Cardinals fan, I'm not sure quite how to respond to an October without Redbirds baseball. At the same time, it's agreeing with me (especialy in this time of work madness, running madness and family anxiety) to not be a slave to the television two out of every three nights. I mean, I can watch "Kid Nation" online; baseball doesn't doesn't carry the same gravitas unless it's live. I'm personally looking forward to a Colorado-Boston finale... Won't that be a "Rock-'em, Sock-em" series! Those of you who get it are free to use it.

A few quick updates:

--I'm now on Facebook. See my page here, if you have a Facebook. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I got fed up with MySpace. Facebook is just as vapid but considerably more entertaining, and I've yet to get a friend request from a nude woman.

--I'm now a bi-weekly TV star. My company (Whitaker Publishing: A Life-Improvement Company) has gotten hot-and-heavy with one of the local TV stations. I go on every other Thursday at 6:45 a.m. to talk about the new issue of GO Magazine. It's kind of a trip. I've always said "I have a face made for radio and a voice made for magazines, so here I am," but TV suits me fine, I suppose. I'll let you be the judge... you know, if you like getting up at 6:45. (Note: The link above is not to my segment, but a weekly segment sponsored by 417, the WP flagship for which I serve as web editor).

--If you're a consevation nut, or just a fan of good writing, please check out my blogroll, specifically the Bloggin' Swicks, my best buddy Nathan (The Drinking Bird) and his dad, Greg (Conservation Conversations) are rippin' up the blogosphere with insightful, necessary conversations (unlike my parenthetical-laden self-serving drivel). Of particular delight is Nathan's candidate-by-candidate breakdown of each presidential candidate according to how bird- (e.g., conservationally) friendly they are. It's a Newt... er, hoot.

That is all. Enjoy your Friday night, however you choose to spend it.

Peace.

ML

Leave-Leaving-Left Las Vegas

It's been almost three weeks to the day since I blogged, but you really haven't missed much. Due to last week's trip to Vegas (more on that in a minute, pictures when I figure out how to post them), I'm now a week behind on my running--tomorrow will be a long run. Most of my teammates had a long one last week, while I was sleeping off jet lag. I'm looking at 18 miles... no small feat since it's been two weeks since I went as many as 10. Wish me luck. I'll try to post an update tomorrow night, after I'm out of the hospital.

I simply must lead off the body of this post by bragging on my wife. She and her Media II class at Central High School--which puts out the bi-weekly news program Central Intelligence--found out this week that they were a Pacemaker Award finalist for the second consecutive year (the Pacemaker is the high school equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, Nichole says), this time for a story on a three-years-married couple that is dealing with the effects of serial deployment to Iraq (for him) and multilple children (for her). These two are only 20 or so, and are Central High School graduates. I make a point to watch my wife's classes' work... sometimes she even asks my advice. I wish I had the time and energy--and let's face it, cumulative talent--at GO Magazine to put out work half as good as these kids do. I really couldn't be more proud of her (and them).

Now for Vegas. What can I say? The size and excess of the place overwhelmed me. You literally have to walk for 10 minutes to make it from one casino to the next. They're that big. I didn't have the budget to gamble or go clubbing, our funds were spent on nice dinners (Wolfgang Puck's Chenois at Ceasar's Palace is fantastic) and shows (Cirque du Soliel's "O" is a marvel). It's a sign of how much I needed some time off that the most satisfying three hours I spent was at the Extra Lounge inside our hotel (Planet Hollywood, formerly the Aladdin, pictured), watching NFL. I'm guessing most of the Bears fans around me had money on the game, as they were crying when 'da Bears won by 10 over the Chiefs (the spread was 12). Poor schmucks.

Finally, I have to give a HUH-YOOGE thank you to all of the people who helped me get very near my fundraising goal for the marathon (I'm pretty much there... though you could still be the one who puts me over the top by clicking and donating here.) A number of generous friends (Nath, as one of my three regular readers, I'm cyber-looking at you) and business acquaintances who donated silent auction items (Jeff Jenkins and the Skinny Improv, Randy Bacon, Meghan Chambers and Staxx Apparel, Paul Sundy and Big Whiskey's and my always-awesome sister-in-law, Courtney Schindele and Salon Truth), not to mention my overtly supportive parents (love 'ya mama!) helped me raise almost $2,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Way to go! Now all I have to do is finish the marathon!

Other than a more-than-brutal work schedule the last several weeks, there's not too much else interesting to report. Tomorrow's 18 miles will go a long way toward determining just how ready I am for my October 20 marathon. I'm sure the light (ULTRA light, if you believe the bottle) beer I'm drinking doesn't help, but it's Friday, and I'm alive.

Peace.

ML

Let me see if you can run it, run it

Today's 16.2 miles set a new standard for pain: It's been almost seven hours since I finished, and every muscle in my leg is screaming through the handful of ibuprofen I downed an hour or two ago. I bitched about soreness in high school, but in retrospect I should not have.

That said, it was a hell of a run. I only stopped once every three miles for water, and really gutted through some knee pain. By the end my legs were cramping pretty bad, but my knee had stopped hurting. That's either good or bad. If I can't walk tomorrow I may be in trouble.

Still, I'm only 10 miles from a full marathon--the distance of an out-and-back on my favorite Greenway trail, which I've run a hundred times. If I can take care of my legs, eat right and keep focused, I may actually finish this damn thing!

This is the first time in weeks that I've actually run on Saturday with the Team In Training group and not on Sunday on my own; it's nice because I can now enjoy my (long) weekend. I've been casually watching some college football waiting for the Cardinals game tonight. Damn shame about Juan Encarnacion, the Cardinals outfielder. You don't wish this on anyone. Without that, it would have been one of the better games all year--Rick Ankiel hit a grand slam off a lefty? Inconceivable!

Happy Labor Day!

Peace

ML

(But it's just a) sweet, sweet fantasy, baby

As a baseball fan, I've found that "fantasy" leagues diminish my enjoyment of the game. I get off plenty watching mid-June highlights of Mariners vs. Padres. I don't need to know whether Yuniesky Bettancourt went 3-4 with a double and two stolen bases to increase my appreciation of the game.

Conversely, however, I find fantasy football adds to my enjoyment. Maybe because it's a weekly phenomenon: Sunday, when I'm typically at home either relaxing or working, and require the second browser window on my computer to make games interesting. Perhaps it's because I'm a Cowboys and (marginal) Chiefs fan--not a lot to root for over the last decade. And really, why else would I care about a Titans-Browns tilt?

Anyway, my fantasy draft for this season--my fourth straight year in a league with a bunch of friends from college--was last Sunday. Last year I finished third, my best showing ever. This year, I'm enlisting the help of my blog readers to help make decisions, but you probably ought to know my team before I set out. Here's my (extremely average) roster.

First pick: Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Stud RB, but not sexy. Wish I'd had the third pick (I drafted fourth overall), but way better than some alternatives.

Second pick: Travis Henry, RB, Denver Broncos
So he's got nine kids with nine women. He's an all-pro playing for Denver. Nuff said if he's healthy.

Third pick: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
I see a baby-daddy theme emerging, do you? Hall of Famer, though.

Fourth pick: Roy Williams, WR, Detroit Lions
Not bad for the fourth round, no?

Fifth pick: Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco 49ers
A steal here. Gonna be watching a lot of left coast games.

Sixth pick: Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans
Had him two years ago. I think he's gonna be good... this time.

Seventh pick: Warrick Dunn, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Woulda been a better pick three years ago, but not bad for my Flex position.

Eighth pick: Defense, Denver Broncos
Hey, a quarter of their games will be against Kansas City and Oakland.

Ninth pick: Donte Stallworth, WR, New England Patriots
If Randy Moss is a washout, he's their No. 1, hands down. I think I'll be starting him by Week 4.

Tenth pick: Dominic Rhodes, RB, Oakland Raiders
Here's where things go to pot. He may start, he may not. Ehhhhh.....

Eleventh pick: Vernand Morancy, RB, Green Bay Packers
My worst pick. He's the only incumbent, but dammit if he's not hurt. Probably my first waiver wire drop.

Twelveth pick: Derrick Mason, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Again, three years ago this is solid. May be trade bait.

Thirteenth pick: Matt Schaub, QB, Houston Texans
I listen to too much sports radio. But I only hope to play him one week, so...

Fourteenth pick: Nate Burleson, WR, Seattle Seahawks
I don't know what I was thinking, either.

Fifteenth pick: Stephen Gostkowski, K, New England Patriots
You gotta have a kicker, right?

So there they are. It's a 10-team league, so the waiver wire is thin. Let me know where I'm lacking, who I should trade for, etc. If you give a crap.

Peace

ML

Guess Who's Back... Back Again?

Lemmon's back. Tell a friend.

While I'd like to tell you I was aimlessly wandering the highways of America, acutely lonely with only my superpowers as company, I actually never went anywhere outside the escapist corners of my own mind. Life, as it tends to do, blew up in my face entirely this month, and I'm just now finding myself with a Saturday fit for a little bit o' bloggin'. So much has happened since my last post that I want to comment on...

I'm still running: I'm up to 16 miles, only 10 from my goal. The break in the ridiculous heat has helped my stamina, as have the fancy-pants new shoes I ponied up for a couple of weeks ago (it's amazing how old shoes feel like running on cardboard.) The last week has worried me a bit, as I'm having some significant pain in my right knee (the outside portion, connecting the knee to calf. Whazat, biology majors?) So I've been cutting my weekday runs short and icing at night. We'll see how it does tomorrow morning, which is a 10 mile run.

Barry Bonds: It was with almost feverish tenacity that I watched every single Giants game until he tied and broke Hank Aaron's record. As a self-respecting baseball fan, I felt it was my duty to watch what will surely be one of the most-talked-about home runs in the history of the game. (Actually, I've been paranoid of missing big baseball moments ever since I went to bed before this home run 19 years ago.) My take on Bonds? Let it go. He broke the record, he's one of a bajillion players who juiced over the last 20 years... let it go. Prosecute him for whatever you want, but let the records stand--and cheer like freakin' crazy when A-Rod passes him six or seven years from now.

Work, work, work: Not too much to say here, but the exciting news is that I'm now Web Editor for the whole of Whitaker Publishing, Inc., in addition to my existing duties as GO Magazine editor. Exciting, or suicide? We shall see. Be sure to check out 417mag.com and springfieldgo.com early and often; exciting changes begin soon!

More corporate-export deaths in China: Suicide now. Seriously. When your government executes officials for taking kickbacks, how long until they start cutting out the middle men? Either way, I had to return my lead-tainted Dora the Explorer figurines. How pissed am I? Pretty pissed.

The Cardinals' August resurgence: It's a mirage, but a beautiful one. I was dreading a September in which baseball didn't matter to me--now I'm at least forced to pay attention. Thank you, Albert Pujols.

This makes me laugh a whole lot: dugout.progressiveboink.com.

Props: I absolutely have to give a shout out to my best friend, Nathan. He's an Ozarks Democrat who fled for the relative sophistication of the Triangle area of North Carolina (he lives in Chapel Hill). Not only does he have a rapidly growing birders' blog, The Drinking Bird, (you can't miss his "Single-Issue Voter" column, where he breaks down each presidential candidate by how birder-friendly he or she is, he's now starting a reader-driven blog called Joe America's America. Do check them out and comment often.

I've got my yearly fantasy football draft tomorrow with a group of buddies from college. Last year my team (name not safe to print here, alas) finished third. I'm aiming for even better things this year. More tomorrow (if I'm not too plowed/tired from my run to type.)

Peace.

ML

Worldwide (Running) Pants

Today I ran my first half-marathon. Yup--13-plus miles of southeast Greene County's (and some of Christian County's) finest urban sprawl. I came home and slept for about four hours, so my body feels much better, save a splitting headache. More Gatorade, please!


Ever wonder what goes through the mind of someone running 13 miles on city trails and roads? Here's a Top 10 list (I'm very good at Top 10 Lists).


10. "Those Kenyan guys would be done with a full marathon by now."
This is at, oh, mile 10.


9. "Flies love poop. Poop, poop, poop."
The voice in my head says this like Ron Burgundy downing a glass of scotch in Anchorman.


8. "They way I feel, a naked Heidi Klum could run by me and I would be in no way aroused."
This is more speculation than tested fact.


7. "I can't stand cyclists."
Okay, I know one of my best friends and one of my two readers is an avid (ex?) cyclist, but these guys annoy me. They wear these loud damn jerseys when a one-tone would be fine, they look like they're exerting sooo much physical strength when some fraction of it must be the bike--my quads don't want to hear it, whiner. Finally, some of them (not all) practically run you off the road. If they have the courtesy to say "Passing on the left!" it's when they're already on you, straight in your ear, scaring you half to death. I knew you were coming, Jaques; your ego passed me 20 minutes ago.


6. "Well, it's better than work."


5. "Never again will I eat anything with the word 'Diablo' in the title the night before a run."


4. Whatever song I happen to select from my memory bank.
There's only one, mind you: Once it's there, it's stuck. I've had the ill fortune of having songs from Avril Lavigne, Jo-Jo and Fergie. Today, however, it was Son Volt's "Drown." Ah, much more tolerable.


3. "How do they get all that lovely cream filling inside a Twinkie?"


2. "When I'm done with this, I only have 13 miles to go until I've run a full marathon. Joy!"


1. "Dont' say hi to me."
Seriously, folks. I know we're in the Midwest, and we have some genetic wiring that makes us feel obligated to give out unnecessary salutations to total strangers, but stop it. I'm sweaty, I'm huffing a bit, I look like ass. You look like ass, too. Saying hi, waving or, hell, even smiling takes energy I need to keep going. It's nothing personal. Yes, we are each weekend-morning warriors, pounding the pavement to satisfy whatever issues we have that make us feel the need to be running before sunrise. I get that. But I do not want to greet you unless I know you and like you. Or if doing so would socially or vocationally benefit me in some way. Get over it.


(Would that qualify as a rant? Oh dear.)


Have a great weekend, reader(s).


Peace.


ML

I'm Runnin' (Runnin' on Empty)

I'm starting to think this whole "train for a marathon in the middle of summer" thing was one of the dimmest in my considerable collection of not-so-bright ideas. I hit the pavement at 6:30 this morning, and by the time I made it 3+ miles (my minimum weekday run) I was sweating like Rosie O'Donnell at Ryan's Steakhouse. Missouri in August (well, July) is a stomach-churning humidity, one that's only made worse by that lukewarm shower, that cup of coffee. No matter how much ice water or Gatorade you drink, you can't cool down.

(Yeah, I know. EVERYONE says their part of the country has the worst humidity. It's like claiming you have the worst drivers, or you're the meth capital of North America. Life sucks everywhere. Got it.)

Naturally this has me dreading this Saturday's long run. My schedule has me going 11 miles but I'm going to try and keep up with my goal of staying two miles ahead of my chart. That would put me at 13 miles--halfway to to the finish line. Actually, it's probably more like 2/3 of the way, since everyone I've talked to said it's not training that takes you the last four or five miles, but sheer will.

Or as my grandma Nonee would say, stupidity.

The one thing that is becoming painfully obvious is I'm going to have to curtail--if not eliminate--beer consumption between now and October 20. This has me bummed. I'm a man of few vices: a little baseball, a little man-crush on Albert Pujols, beer. Better than most clergy, I would suspect. But I've noticed as the rest of my body is getting harder (I daresay you could open a soda bottle on my calves right now), my slight paunch has not diminished, and the morning-after beer bloat is even more pronounced. It's a sacrifice that will be good for me, I'm sure, but it's a sacrifice nonetheless. The good people at Leinenkugel's are (along with my family) the only ones who have managed to keep me in some semblance of emotional balance since... oh, February.

Great local blog reading of late:

* Ryan Wiksell of The Core Blog has a pastor's take on The Simpsons Movie.
* My good buddy Nathan is having a squirrel problem.
* The lovely Michelle will be selling her talents on Walnut Street this Friday (don't be dirty).

And, in the comments, leave me your advice for good athlete's diet tips. I'm feeling overwhelmed and I need you all to tell me how poorly you eat, too.

Peace,

ML

Updates, Updates, Updates!

It's been a bit of a zany week, as anyone associated with the magazine or my family can attest. I know only one way of cutting through the shiznit. Bullet points!!!


(Okay, so I don't know how to make a damn bullet point in Blogger on a PC. I hate effin' PCs. Asterisks it is--might be more appropriate anyway.)


* Marathon Update: Much too late to be called coming to our senses, Nichole and I realized that $3,800 each is an absolutely absurd amount to try and raise to run a marathon (or half marathon, in her case), especially when you're splitting all your donors down the middle. Ergo, she has stopped the running program--with cheerleading practice starting this week she was doomed to fall behind anyway--and I have switched to the Kansas City marathon instead of San Francisco. It's not as sexy, no, but far less vertical. It also requires half as much money raised, and Nichole can tag along on our anniversary weekend without paying for a plane ticket. She regrets stopping, but our ability to raise that money--or even find the time to try--just doesn't exist, and we patently refuse to chunk the unraised balance on a credit card. Debt is debt, even if the money goes to a good cause. I'll update this site's sidebar item to reflect my change in destination. Thanks to all who have donated, and keep it coming if you can!


* Reading Update: So we finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in two days--I read out loud for about 20 out of 34 hours over the weekend. I'll put up a more detailed review at some point, but overall I thought it was a fine way to close out the series, even if the ending was a little stunted and treacle. St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan liked it, too (photo from the Riverfront Times website).



* Movie Update: Saw The Simpsons Movie on Thursday night at the mini-premiere reserved for each of the nation's Springfields. It's everything a Simpsons movie should be, which is simply an hour and 20 minute episode, with a few goodies thrown in that you can't have on TV... even FOX... like Bart's private parts and Marge dropping the "GD" bomb. Good stuff. See it.


* Softball Update: Finally, the Whitaker Publishing Write Fielders won their first and only game of the softball season on Wednesday. Read about it here. Woo-hoo! I played shortstop for the winning team.


Have a great week. I'll try to blog about tomorrow's run this weekend.


Peace.



ML

Thoughts From The Road

Sorry I've been so absent over the last week. Deadline has a way of doing that to me... when I get home, or when I wake up, for that matter, the last thing I want to do is stare at a computer. But the new issue is out. Check it out. It's hardly our most consequential issue, but by all accounts a good read.

But I'm back now. Yesterday was my second straight week running 10 miles, and while it physically hurt a bit more than last week--I suspect the achy quads came from Wednesday's softball game--it didn't feel nearly as long, and the cooler weathe kept me from sweating quite as profusely. I would have been done in much the same time--probably quite a bit faster--if it weren't for taking that bathroom break at First and Calvery Presbyterian Church. Seriously. Sometimes there's just nothing for it but to take a pit stop, and at 8 a.m. there are very few businesses open. First time I've been in a church in months...

But yeah, 10 miles. My feet are sore today--I suspect I'll need new shoes soon, which I really can't afford. I had my first two online donors, you can see their names on the sidebar at right. If you want your name added to the list ( :) ) just click on the top link at right, or click here.

Yesterday, after our run, the Mrs. and I spent about nine hours reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's our tradition for me to read these books aloud while she cross-stitches or grades papers or something. We got almost exactly halfway--we plan on bulldozing our way through the rest today. My early impressions, without giving anything important away: the first half has been slow, if not exactly disappointing. Please refrain from leaving your predictions in the comments (not that I get much in the way of comments here, anyway ;) I don't want to hear them.

Finally, I know I promised impressions on the other book I was reading, The Road. I finished it early last week. It's a very quick read, and once you get used to Cormac McCarthy's stunted prose--no punctuation other than periods and the odd comma--an easy one. Ever since I read Stephen King's The Stand at the age of 15, I've sort of relished the post-apocalyptic drama. I mean, all that America out there and only a handful of us around to explore it? There's just something about it that fascinates me. Of course, King used a virus to destroy mankind, and viruses don't leave inches of gray ash on the ground and block out the sun. The Road focuses solely on the travels of an unnamed father and son some years after some presumably nuclear event. There's no real plot, just walking and hiding from the rest of civilzation, most of which has gone feral. You know the man is sick, and that he has a gut-wrenching choice to make: Let the boy go on or end it all, much as his wife did years earlier. I won't tell you how it ends, but I do suggest you read this book. So does Oprah, for what that's worth. The speed-readers among you will have it done in a day.

Too long already, yes? I've got a Potter of coffee to make. Get it? Witty I am. Wit-TY.

Finally, my buddy Nathan in N.C. has started his own blog, The Drinking Bird. Great read, especially for the ornotho-philes (can some Latin guru tell me if that's wrong?) among you. Nathan is funnier than I am and less prone to rambling. Good thing.


Peace.

M